At night I sent to W. Bowyer to bring me 100l., being that he had in his hands of my Lord’s. in keeping, out of which I paid Mr. Sheply all that remained due to my Lord upon my balance, and took the rest home with me late at night. We got a coach, but the horses were tired and could not carry us farther than St. Dunstan’s. So we ‘light and took a link and so home weary to bed.

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Annotations

At night I sent ...L&M's wording: At night, I sent to W. Bowyer to bring me a 100l bag that he hath in his hands of my Lord's in keeping, out of which I paid Mr. Sheply all that remains due to my Lord upon my balance, and took the rest home with me late at night.-- the word bag is missing from Wheatley-- the extraneous period after “Lord’s” and before “in keeping” is a Gutenberg scan error.

". So we ‘light and took a link and so home weary to bed." 'light= alight ? i.e. set ourselves down then had a lad light the way."and I find myself worth about 100l. after all my expenses. " It appears he enjoyed the fruits of his Labo(u)r. Has any body done an audit on this account?Would be quite an exercise, would it not?

Vincent- 'light= alight ? Yes, but probably as the intransitive verb "to come down from something (as a vehicle)" rather than the adjective "being on fire:lighted up" So they alight from the coach, but what does "and took a link" mean?

"...I paid Mr. Sheply all that remained due to my Lord upon my balance..."Is this clear to anyone?

It seems to say that Sam takes my lord's money from Bowyer to give (pay up his account with) my lord through Sheply. A sort of borrowing from Peter to pay Paul, but Peter and Paul are just agents for the same man. ???

And I'm surprised that Bowyer holds money for my lord. Or does he hold the Earl's money at Sam's behest?

linking to Mary's link see Steve H feb 4/5th or use search: An aside: I wonder if he still gave a farthing or a mite or two;The boy maybe known as a Glym Jack.( A link boy who carries a glym) ( glymmer of hope maybe?)

"We got a coach, but the horses were tired and could not carry us farther than St. Dunstan’s."

That's like today taking a taxi that runs out of fuel and can't get you any further. But as was pointed out in yesterday's annotation, Sam doesn't mind taking walks from time to time and from St. Dunstan's to his home it's only some 200 yards anyway.

Reminds me of that discussion here about taxi cab drivers and their bale of hay - looks like this coachman didn't give his horses enough to eat or drink.

King's Speech to them (and the House of Commons) to urge "the speedy Dispatch of the Act of Indemnity, as a necessary Foundation of that Security we all pray for. "

Timeline for the enactment of "An Act of Free and General Pardon, Indemnity, and Oblivion" which fulfilled the suggestion given in the Declaration of Breda that reprisals against the establishment which had developed during the English Interregnum would be restricted to those who had officiated in the regicide of King Charles I. The passage of the Indemnity and Oblivion Act through the Convention Parliament was secured by Lord Clarendon, the first minister of King Charles II, and it became law on 29 August 1660 during the first year of the English Restoration.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indemnity_and_Obli...

What happened to the poor horses? If they were too spent to pull a coach with people in, were they able to pull the empty coach back to their stable? Or did the coachman have to abandon his vehicle, take these horses to a stable and return with another team to retrieve his coach? Or did one or more literally die in harness? Sam doesn't know, and can't tell us. And did link boys lounge about the streets, looking for trade? How hard was it to find one when you wanted one?